As I approached a certain age, my doctor said, “Oh, are you taking calcium supplements?” And, I asked him, “Isn’t arterial plaque calcified cholesterol? Is it really a good idea to flood my arteries with calcium?” He is a thoughtful person. “Maybe not,” he said, upon reflection.
The main therapeutic use of calcium supplements is to ward off osteoporosis. We are beginning to live longer than our bones were intended, and we are trying to avoid turning into boneless amoebae before we die. Knowing from childhood that “calcium builds strong bones,” we thought calcium supplements made perfect sense.
Source: news@Jama
I felt really validated when studies came out showing calcium to be a cardiac risk. The most recent was published online a month ago. The NIH AARP Diet and Health Study found a higher risk of cardiovascular events in men taking supplementary calcium. Why the risk did not appear to be elevated for women is a subject for further study.
Similar findings have been reported in the British Medical Journal: Heart and Education in Heart.
Calcium supplements: bad for the heart?
Heart 2012;98:12 895-896
As well as in other European studies:
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